Bill Text: IA SF271 | 2015-2016 | 86th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to interpreters for persons who are limited English proficient, deaf, deaf-blind, or hard-of-hearing in certain legal proceedings and court-ordered programs. (Formerly SSB 1113.)

Sponsorship: Committee Bill

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2015-03-12 - Read first time, referred to Judiciary. H.J. 576. [SF271 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2015-SF271-Introduced.html

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Senate File 271 - Introduced




                                 SENATE FILE       
                                 BY  COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

                                 (SUCCESSOR TO SSB
                                     1113)

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act relating to interpreters for persons who are limited
  2    English proficient, deaf, deaf=blind, or hard=of=hearing in
  3    certain legal proceedings and court=ordered programs.
  4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
    TLSB 1141SV (3) 86
    jh/rj

PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  Section 232.141, subsections 1 and 2, Code 2015,
  1  2 are amended to read as follows:
  1  3    1.  Except as otherwise provided by law, the court shall
  1  4 inquire into the ability of the child or the child's parent
  1  5 to pay expenses incurred pursuant to subsections 2, 4, and 8.
  1  6 After giving the parent a reasonable opportunity to be heard,
  1  7 the court may order the parent to pay all or part of the costs
  1  8 of the child's care, examination, treatment, legal expenses,
  1  9 or other expenses, excluding the costs and fees of interpreter
  1 10 and translator services. An order entered under this section
  1 11 does not obligate a parent paying child support under a custody
  1 12 decree, except that part of the monthly support payment may be
  1 13 used to satisfy the obligations imposed by the order entered
  1 14 pursuant to this section. If a parent fails to pay as ordered,
  1 15 without good reason, the court may proceed against the parent
  1 16 for contempt and may inform the county attorney who shall
  1 17 proceed against the parent to collect the unpaid amount. Any
  1 18 payment ordered by the court shall be a judgment against each
  1 19 of the child's parents and a lien as provided in section
  1 20 624.23. If all or part of the amount that the parents are
  1 21 ordered to pay is subsequently paid by the county or state,
  1 22 the judgment and lien shall thereafter be against each of the
  1 23 parents in favor of the county to the extent of the county's
  1 24 payments and in favor of the state to the extent of the state's
  1 25 payments.
  1 26    2.  All of the following juvenile court expenses are a charge
  1 27 upon the county in which the proceedings are held, to the
  1 28 extent provided in subsection 3:
  1 29    a.  Juvenile court expenses incurred by an attorney appointed
  1 30 by the court to serve as counsel to any party or to serve as a
  1 31 guardian ad litem for any child, including fees and expenses
  1 32 for foreign language interpreters, costs of depositions and
  1 33 transcripts, fees and mileage of witnesses, and the expenses of
  1 34 officers serving notices and subpoenas.
  1 35    b.  Reasonable compensation for an attorney appointed by the
  2  1 court to serve as counsel to any party or as guardian ad litem
  2  2 for any child in juvenile court.
  2  3    c.  Fees and expenses incurred by the juvenile court for
  2  4 foreign language interpreters for court proceedings.
  2  5    Sec. 2.  Section 622A.1, Code 2015, is amended to read as
  2  6 follows:
  2  7    622A.1  Definitions.
  2  8    As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise
  2  9 requires:
  2 10    1.  "Administrative agency" means any department, board,
  2 11 commission, or agency of the state or any political subdivision
  2 12 of the state.
  2 13    2.  "Interpreter" means a person who can accurately transfer
  2 14 the meaning of words, phrases, or signs of one language into
  2 15 the equivalent words, phrases, or signs in another language
  2 16 and includes an oral language interpreter and a sign language
  2 17 interpreter.
  2 18    2.  3.  "Legal proceeding" means any action before any
  2 19 court, or any legal action preparatory to appearing before
  2 20 any court, whether civil, criminal, or juvenile in nature;
  2 21 and any proceeding before any administrative agency which
  2 22 is quasi=judicial in nature and which has direct legal
  2 23 implications to any person.
  2 24    4.  "Limited English proficient" means the inability to
  2 25 adequately understand or effectively communicate in the English
  2 26 language because a person's primary language is a language
  2 27 other than English or the person is deaf, deaf=blind, or
  2 28 hard=of=hearing.
  2 29    5.  "Oral language interpreter" means an interpreter who is
  2 30 able to interpret from one oral language into a second oral
  2 31 language and from the second oral language into the first oral
  2 32 language.
  2 33    6.  "Participant" means a party, witness, or attorney in any
  2 34 legal proceeding; a child who is or may be the subject of a
  2 35 delinquency petition; a parent, guardian, or custodian, whose
  3  1 child is or may be the subject of a delinquency petition; or a
  3  2 person who is a guardian, conservator, or trustee in a probate
  3  3 case.
  3  4    7.  "Sign language interpreter" means an interpreter who is
  3  5 able to interpret from sign language into an oral language and
  3  6 from that oral language into sign language.
  3  7    Sec. 3.  Section 622A.2, Code 2015, is amended to read as
  3  8 follows:
  3  9    622A.2  Who entitled to an interpreter.
  3 10    Every A limited English proficient person who cannot speak
  3 11 or understand the English language and who is a party to any
  3 12 legal proceeding or a witness therein, shall be is entitled to
  3 13 an interpreter to assist such person throughout the proceeding.
  3 14  without cost when the limited English proficient person is any
  3 15 of the following:
  3 16    1.  A participant in a legal proceeding.
  3 17    2.  A party whom a court has ordered to participate in a
  3 18 predisposition program.
  3 19    3.  A party in a pending court case who requires an
  3 20 interpreter during a deposition or consultation with an
  3 21 attorney or in preparation for a legal proceeding before
  3 22 any court, if the party is entitled to appointment of legal
  3 23 counsel in a criminal or juvenile case, or the court otherwise
  3 24 determines that the party is indigent or cannot afford to pay
  3 25 for interpreter services.
  3 26    Sec. 4.  Section 622A.3, Code 2015, is amended by striking
  3 27 the section and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
  3 28    622A.3  Payment of interpreters.
  3 29    1.  The state court administrator shall pay an oral language
  3 30 interpreter from the revolving fund created in section
  3 31 602.1302, subsection 3, when a limited English proficient
  3 32 person is entitled to an oral language interpreter under
  3 33 section 622A.2 and the oral language interpreter services are
  3 34 not provided before an administrative agency.
  3 35    2.  The county where interpreter services are provided shall
  4  1 pay a sign language interpreter or a real=time court reporter
  4  2 when a deaf, deaf=blind, or hard=of=hearing person is entitled
  4  3 to a sign language interpreter under section 622A.2 and the
  4  4 interpreter services are not provided before an administrative
  4  5 agency.
  4  6    3.  An administrative agency shall pay an interpreter when a
  4  7 limited English proficient person is entitled to an interpreter
  4  8 under section 622A.2 and the interpretive services are provided
  4  9 before an administrative agency.
  4 10    Sec. 5.  Section 622A.4, Code 2015, is amended to read as
  4 11 follows:
  4 12    622A.4  Fee set by court == payment or administrative agency.
  4 13    Every interpreter appointed by a court or administrative
  4 14 agency shall receive a fee to be set by the court or
  4 15 administrative agency. If the interpreter is appointed by the
  4 16 court in a civil case for a person who is indigent and unable
  4 17 to secure an interpreter, the fee for the interpreter shall be
  4 18 paid from the revolving fund established in section 602.1302,
  4 19 subsection 3.
  4 20    Sec. 6.  Section 622A.5, Code 2015, is amended to read as
  4 21 follows:
  4 22    622A.5  Oath.
  4 23    Every interpreter in any legal proceeding shall take the
  4 24 same an oath as any other witness consistent with the rules the
  4 25 supreme court adopts under this chapter.
  4 26    Sec. 7.  Section 622A.6, Code 2015, is amended to read as
  4 27 follows:
  4 28    622A.6  Qualifications, neutrality, and integrity.
  4 29    Any court or administrative agency may inquire into the
  4 30 qualifications, neutrality, and integrity of any interpreter,
  4 31 and may disqualify any person from serving as an interpreter.
  4 32    Sec. 8.  Section 622A.8, Code 2015, is amended to read as
  4 33 follows:
  4 34    622A.8  Tape Electronic recording of testimony.
  4 35    A tape An electronic recording of the portion of
  5  1 proceedings where non=English testimony is given shall be
  5  2 made and maintained for one year after the entry of the final
  5  3 disposition or sentence or, if the final judgment is appealed,
  5  4 until one year after the final disposition of the appeal.
  5  5    Sec. 9.  Section 622B.1, subsection 1, Code 2015, is amended
  5  6 to read as follows:
  5  7    1.  As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise
  5  8 requires:
  5  9    a.  "Administrative agency" means any department, board,
  5 10 commission, or agency of the state or any political subdivision
  5 11 of the state.
  5 12    b.  "Deaf person" means an individual who uses sign language
  5 13 as the person's primary mode of communication and who may use
  5 14 interpreters to facilitate communication.
  5 15    c.  "Hard=of=hearing person" means an individual who
  5 16 is unable to hear and distinguish sounds within normal
  5 17 conversational range and who needs to use speechreading,
  5 18 assistive listening devices, or oral interpreters other
  5 19 reasonable accommodations to facilitate communication.
  5 20    d.  "Interpreter" means an oral interpreter or sign language
  5 21 interpreter a person who can accurately transfer the meaning of
  5 22 words, phrases, or signs in one language into the equivalent
  5 23 words, phrases, or signs in another language, and includes an
  5 24 oral language interpreter and a sign language interpreter.
  5 25    e.  "Oral language interpreter" means an interpreter who is
  5 26 fluent in transliterating, paraphrasing, and voicing able to
  5 27 interpret from one oral language into a second oral language
  5 28 and from the second oral language into the first oral language.
  5 29    f.  "Participant" means a party, witness, or attorney in any
  5 30 legal proceeding; a child who is or may be the subject of a
  5 31 delinquency petition; a parent, guardian, or custodian, whose
  5 32 child is or may be the subject of a delinquency petition; or a
  5 33 person who is a guardian, conservator, or trustee in a probate
  5 34 case.
  5 35    f.  g.  "Sign language interpreter" means an interpreter who
  6  1 is able to interpret from sign language to English and English
  6  2 to sign language into an oral language and from that oral
  6  3 language into sign language.
  6  4    Sec. 10.  Section 622B.2, Code 2015, is amended by striking
  6  5 the section and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
  6  6    622B.2  Interpreter appointed.
  6  7    A court or administrative agency shall appoint an
  6  8 interpreter without expense to a deaf or hard=of=hearing person
  6  9 to interpret the proceedings to the deaf or hard=of=hearing
  6 10 person and to interpret the deaf or hard=of=hearing person's
  6 11 testimony, unless the deaf or hard=of=hearing person waives the
  6 12 right to an interpreter, if the deaf or hard=of=hearing person
  6 13 is any of the following:
  6 14    1.  A participant in a proceeding before a grand jury, court,
  6 15 or administrative agency of this state.
  6 16    2.  A party who is ordered by a court to participate in
  6 17 mediation or a predisposition parenting program in a domestic
  6 18 relations case.
  6 19    3.  A party in a pending court case who requires an
  6 20 interpreter during a deposition or consultation with an
  6 21 attorney or in preparation for a legal proceeding before
  6 22 any court, if the party is entitled to appointment of legal
  6 23 counsel in a criminal or juvenile case, or the court otherwise
  6 24 determines that the party is indigent or cannot afford to pay
  6 25 for interpreter services.
  6 26    Sec. 11.  Section 622B.8, Code 2015, is amended to read as
  6 27 follows:
  6 28    622B.8  Disqualification.
  6 29    On motion of a party or on its own motion, a court or
  6 30 administrative agency shall inquire into the qualifications,
  6 31 neutrality, and integrity of an interpreter. A court or
  6 32 administrative agency may disqualify for good reason any person
  6 33 from serving as an interpreter in that proceeding. If an
  6 34 interpreter is disqualified, the court or administrative agency
  6 35 shall appoint another interpreter.
  7  1    Sec. 12.  Section 815.9, subsection 3, Code 2015, is amended
  7  2 to read as follows:
  7  3    3.  If a person is granted an appointed attorney, the
  7  4 person shall be required to reimburse the state for the total
  7  5 cost of legal assistance provided to the person pursuant to
  7  6 this section. "Legal assistance" as used in this section
  7  7 shall include not only the expense of the public defender or
  7  8 an appointed attorney, but also transcripts, witness fees,
  7  9 expenses, and any other goods or services required by law to
  7 10 be provided to an indigent person entitled to an appointed
  7 11 attorney, excluding the costs and fees of interpreter and
  7 12 translator services.
  7 13                           EXPLANATION
  7 14 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
  7 15 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly.
  7 16    This bill relates to interpreters for persons who are
  7 17 limited English proficient (LEP), including those persons who
  7 18 are deaf, deaf=blind, or hard=of=hearing, in certain legal
  7 19 proceedings and court=ordered programs.
  7 20    The bill provides that a person is entitled to an interpreter
  7 21 if that person is LEP and is a participant in any legal
  7 22 proceeding, whom a court has ordered to participate in a
  7 23 predisposition program, or is a party in a pending court
  7 24 case and who requires an interpreter during a deposition or
  7 25 attorney consultation, if the party is entitled to appointment
  7 26 of legal counsel, or the court otherwise determines that the
  7 27 party is indigent. An LEP person is a person who is unable
  7 28 to adequately understand or effectively communicate in the
  7 29 English language because the person's primary language is a
  7 30 language other than English or the person is deaf, deaf=blind,
  7 31 or hard=of=hearing. "Deaf person" means an individual who uses
  7 32 sign language as the person's primary mode of communication
  7 33 and who may use interpreters to facilitate communication.
  7 34 "Hard=of=hearing person" means an individual who is unable
  7 35 to hear and distinguish sounds within normal conversational
  8  1 range and who needs to use speechreading, assistive listening
  8  2 devices, or other reasonable accommodations to facilitate
  8  3 communication.
  8  4    Under current law, in civil cases the court taxes the cost
  8  5 of an interpreter for a person who cannot speak or understand
  8  6 the English language as court costs, and in a proceeding
  8  7 before an administrative agency the agency may require that
  8  8 a party to the proceeding pay the expense of the interpreter
  8  9 for a person who cannot speak or understand the English
  8 10 language.  An interpreter appointed for a person who is deaf or
  8 11 hard=of=hearing is paid by the county if appointed by the court
  8 12 and by the administrative agency if appointed by such agency.
  8 13    The bill provides that fees for interpreter services shall
  8 14 not be charged to an LEP person when such person is entitled
  8 15 to an interpreter. Under the bill, interpreter fees are not
  8 16 taxed as court costs. The bill provides that if an LEP person
  8 17 is entitled to an oral language interpreter in a proceeding
  8 18 or program that is not before an agency, the state court
  8 19 administrator shall pay the oral language interpreter from the
  8 20 revolving fund created in Code section 602.1302(3), and if an
  8 21 LEP person is entitled to an oral language interpreter before
  8 22 an agency, the agency shall pay the interpreter. The bill
  8 23 further provides that if a deaf, deaf=blind, or hard=of=hearing
  8 24 person is entitled to an interpreter or real=time court
  8 25 reporter in a proceeding not before an agency, the county
  8 26 where the interpreter services are provided shall pay the
  8 27 interpreter, and if a deaf, deaf=blind, or hard=of=hearing
  8 28 person is entitled to an interpreter before an agency, the
  8 29 agency shall pay the interpreter.
  8 30    The bill makes conforming changes to exclude the costs
  8 31 of interpreter services from being charged to a parent in a
  8 32 juvenile proceeding (Code section 232.141) and to a person
  8 33 receiving indigent legal assistance (Code section 815.9).
  8 34    The bill also provides that the court or administrative
  8 35 agency, as appropriate, determines the fees and qualifications
  9  1 for interpreter services; that an interpreter in any legal
  9  2 proceeding is required to take an oath; and that a court or an
  9  3 administrative agency may inquire into the neutrality of an
  9  4 interpreter and may disqualify any person from serving as an
  9  5 interpreter. The bill requires electronic rather than audio
  9  6 recordings of the portion of proceedings where non=English
  9  7 testimony is given to be made and maintained for one year
  9  8 after the entry of the final disposition or sentence or, if
  9  9 the final judgment is appealed, until one year after the final
  9 10 disposition of the appeal.
       LSB 1141SV (3) 86
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